The two horse-drawn carriages and the oxcart turned a corner and disappeared.
Sun, holding Ye Panjiu's arm, said, "After everyone left, I felt so empty inside."
Ye Panjiu patted her hand, "Then come and help me with the work, it's time to earn some money."
Sun's sadness vanished instantly. "We spent a lot during the New Year. Shopkeeper, hurry up and send us some work. There are two of us in my family, and we need to make money."
Ye Panjiu smiled and walked into the house.
Those who remained in Shuzhou followed in a flash.
Ye Panjiu entered the house and took out a map of Shuzhou.
Three circles were drawn on the map, surrounding the government office and forming a right triangle.
"Little sister, what's the purpose of this fenced-off area?" Ye Erniu asked.
Ye Panjiu said, "I want to buy the location of the shop. I plan to open three Jiujiu Braised Food stores in Shuzhou."
Mrs. Sun was extremely excited, "My little sister is so generous!"
Ye Erniu's eyes widened. "Little sister, even if the shops in Shuzhou and Qingshui County are the same price, those three shops would still charge 150 taels. Where would we get that much money?"
Sun pinched him, "Since my little sister said she wants to buy it, then she must have the money. Why are you asking so many questions?"
Ye Erniu stared wide-eyed in disbelief, “One hundred and fifty taels…”
Ye Panjiu patted his shoulder, "I'll take care of the money. This time, the shop doesn't need a backyard. The shop can be about the same size as the one in Qingshui County."
She paused, then looked at Madam Sun and Ye Erniu, "From now on, you will have to handle things like buying shops on your own."
Sun was not afraid, "No problem, I definitely won't be tricked!"
Ye Erniu asked with some concern, "Little sister, why did you buy that shop in Qingshui County back then?"
After all, it was his decision that came about, costing more than fifty taels of silver.
If he buys the wrong thing, he'll be devastated.
Ye Guihua, standing to the side, tried her best to speak up, "Auntie, I also want to help you."
Three months ago, she had endured too much hunger and witnessed the hardships the Ye family had suffered. The contrast between this hardship and the sweetness of her aunt's success in making money for the whole family made her realize the importance of money even more.
She wanted to learn from her aunt and earn more money so that her eldest sister would never have to lower her dowry and marry the wrong person again. She wanted her whole family to live well.
She loves playing the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and she also loves tea. She wants to earn more money so she can drink good tea and buy good paper.
Ye Panjiu patted her shoulder, "Perfect, you can go with your second sister-in-law and second brother, three shops in three places, buy them by tomorrow at the latest. I'll give you each one hundred taels first. I'll go and take care of the paperwork needed for the shops."
She counted the money in her hands. The Jiujiu Braised Food Shop in Qingshui County received five taels of silver every day, which would amount to eighty taels of silver before the New Year. There was also fifty taels of silver that Qian Ziyu had compensated her for, and one hundred taels of gold that the emperor had bestowed upon her, which was equivalent to one thousand taels of silver, for a total of one thousand one hundred and thirty taels.
After deducting the occasional purchases for home, New Year's meals, and New Year's gifts, I spent at least seventy taels.
She still has 1,600 taels of gold in her possession, and she doesn't plan to exchange all of it for silver.
There are losses when exchanging gold for silver at a money exchange; the more you exchange, the greater the losses.
She exchanged two taels of gold first.
Ye Panjiu took out three purses from her sleeve and placed them in the hands of the three people.
"The most important thing in doing business is to be friendly. In addition, try to listen to as much information as possible. Even a small piece of information can lead to different results."
Ye Guihua listened carefully and felt as if the purse weighed a ton.
Ye Panjiu patted her head, "Guihua, don't be afraid. Everyone starts by taking the first step. If you're afraid of taking the wrong step, you'll never get out. Your aunt is here for you."
Ye Guihua nodded vigorously.
She wants to strive to become like her current aunt!
Madam Sun shoved the purse into her bosom, saying, "This little purse is meant to bring in even more money; it carries good luck!"
Fearing he would lose it, Ye Erniu hid it in his clothes and walked out.
Mrs. Sun quickly followed, "Hey, why are you running so fast?"
Ye Erniu pointed to the left side of the door, "You go to the left to buy it, I'll go to the right!"
Sun glared at him. "How could you be so stupid? My sister told us to buy a shop, but she didn't tell us to buy one on our own. If there's one more person watching, we might avoid making a mistake, you know?"
Upon hearing this, Ye Erniu exclaimed, "My wife is so clever!"
Ye Guihua pursed her lips as she listened to the sounds outside.
She wanted to do it herself.
Ye Panjiu smiled and said, "Guihua, sometimes having more people doesn't necessarily mean you're right or wrong. It's all about how you do things. Do whatever you want."
Ye Guihua looked up at her and said, "Okay, I'll listen to my aunt."
Ye Guihua didn't go to the place where she wanted to buy the shop first; instead, she went to inquire about the prices of shops in Shuzhou.
Ye Panjiu walked out of the house and saw Ye Taohua practicing her horse stance.
In the dead of winter, she was dressed in thin clothes, and sweat was streaming down her face.
Heng Tong placed a very thick incense stick in front of her, which had only burned a third of the way down.
Ye Panjiu felt a pang of sympathy, but said nothing.
After the Qian family took away Tao Hua, Heng Tong became much stricter with her.
Ye Taohua didn't complain at all.
She was supposed to protect her mother, but she couldn't even protect herself.
The key to good cooking is practice; nothing else matters.
Ye Panjiu walked towards the main gate, and Heng Tong immediately followed.
She arrived at the government office.
Everyone in the government office knew her; after all, she was present when Qian Zixuan was interrogated, and she stood out.
Mu Gu walked over and said, "Sister Pan Jiu, Lord Duan is discussing new decrees with the magistrates of various counties."
Ye Panjiu was curious about what the new order was, but she didn't ask. "I'm not looking for him. I'm here to get the paperwork for opening a shop."
The most important documents are city registration and tax payment.
The tax on shops is much heavier than the tax on land.
Mu Gu scratched his head. "I really don't know who should handle this."
Ye Panjiu smiled and said, "It's alright, I'll take care of it myself."
The benefits of knowing the prefect were evident: documents were processed swiftly, and there was virtually no questioning.
After completing the paperwork, Ye Panjiu asked the official, "Who is in charge of the Wang family residence?"
After receiving the answer, Ye Panjiu immediately went to find Zhou, the registrar in charge of the matter.
"I want to buy the Wang family's house."
Clerk Zhou swayed his gray beard. "Miss Ye, it's not that I don't want to sell to you, but I'm just trying to give you some advice. This house is haunted! You're just a young girl; you'd be terrified to die in there!"
Ye Panjiu waved her hand, "Lord Zhou, I've always been bold and resilient since I was a child. Since this house is so bad, you'd better give me a good price."
Clerk Zhou shook his head, the young man just wouldn't listen to advice. "Alright, alright, this house has been empty for almost two months and no one has bought it. And you're in a hurry to get money. Give me fifty taels and I'll give you the land deed right now."
Such a beautiful girl, I'm afraid I won't see her again.
Ye Panjiu raised an eyebrow. She was pleasantly surprised by the low price. The Ye family had spent nearly a hundred taels of silver to build a house in Qingshui Village.
Without any hesitation, she counted out fifty taels and handed them to Registrar Zhou.
Ye Panjiu's eyes darted around, and she continued to ask, "Registrar, do you have any shops here that the Wang family confiscated?"
Clerk Zhou waved his hand, "The shops sell out fast, you're too late, they're all gone!"
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